Computer Games may Increase Brain Power and Cure PTSD, Research Shows

Saturday, February 06, 2010 by: Melanie Grimes
Tags: computer games, PTSD, health news

(NewsTarget) A recent study by Oxford University demonstrated that computer games could help treat traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and help remove the memory of trauma, if the same is played immediately after a stressful event. Previous research determined that video games can increase brain activity and create structural changes in the brain. Many online sites offer free versions of various video games that can be accessed easily and for free, for those needing relief from stress.

The PTSD research was conducted on 40 subjects. They were shown a movie containing stressful images, which was called a Trauma Film. This film included images of injury and death, for instance advertisements showing car accidents and the dangers of drunk driving. Researchers decided to see if video games were effective to treat PTDS because they use a large portion of the brain. It is known by neurobiologists that it takes six hours for memories to consolidate and become stored in the brain. Playing video games for thirty minutes disrupted this cycle and prevented the brain from storing the painful memories. The researchers showed that gaming prevented flashbacks to the traumatic memories, but the video play has to be conducted immediately after a stressful event.

Video games have previously been shown to increase brain activity when the games involve an aspect of mental shape juggling or other strong graphic images, such as bubble bursting. Research on shape juggling games has been shown to increase the gray matter in the motor area of the brain. The research demonstrated that the cortical thickness of the brain increased with regular play. The amount of time used in the study was thirty minutes for three months. The research was conducted on teenage girls and published in the journal BMC Research Notes. The brain activity increases sugar consumption rates in the brain, or GMRs, and increases brain performance by seven times, according to a study in Wired Magazine as far back as 1994.

Video games are available for every computer and game console. Games that use puzzle skills and geometric problem solving have been shown to be the best to aid memory retention. This research should bring relief to video game players, who can now justify the claim that their gaming is not play but is building brain cells and reducing stress.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-n...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetris#cite_not...
http://www.offworld.com/2009/01/oxford-resea...
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F...
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/2.05/tetr...

About the author

Melanie Grimes is a writer, award-winning screenwriter, medical journal editor, and adjunct faculty member at Bastyr University. She also teaches homeopathy at the Seattle School of Homeopathy and the American Homeopathic Medical College.
A trained homeopath, she is the editor of the homeopathic journal, Simillimum, and has edited alternative and integrative medical journals for 15 years. She has taught creative writing, founded the first Birkenstock store in the USA and authored medical textbooks.
Her ebook on Natural Remedies for the Flu is available at:
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